Chapter 147: Since When Is Nikolai Cute?

Starlight certainly hadn’t expected the twins to acknowledge their mistakes without being forced into it. From what she knew of them, admitting they were wrong should have been the last thing on their minds.

And Nikolai? Nikolai admitting that he had done something wrong without making excuses or trying to intimidate her into accepting his version of events? That was practically unbelievable and something she would never have imagined witnessing. Yet here he was, standing in front of her with his shoulders slightly tense, his gaze still occasionally dropping to the floor before returning to her face. He looked so uncharacteristically awkward that Starlight found herself struggling to reconcile the sight with the same man who had grabbed her jaw hard enough to make her fear for its survival.

And somehow, her mind kept telling her that this was cute. Again and again.

Starlight resisted the urge to press a hand against her forehead. What was wrong with her, seriously? Why did her brain keep returning to that ridiculous conclusion every time she glanced at Nikolai? It didn’t matter that he was behaving differently today. It didn’t erase what he had done to her, nor did it magically transform him into a decent person overnight. He was still the same bully, the same arrogant, proud jerk who had given her more than enough reasons to despise him. Yet whenever she looked at him and caught that uncertain expression on his face, she found herself thinking the same thing.

It was as disturbing as it was baffling.

Perhaps the fact that they wanted to apologize was having some sort of effect on her. Or perhaps she was simply exhausted from dealing with these two, and her mind had finally decided to malfunction. Either explanation was more reasonable than the possibility that she was genuinely beginning to find Nikolai’s awkwardness endearing.

She refused to entertain that thought any further. Whatever was happening inside her head, she wasn’t about to let either of them see it.

Starlight kept her expression cool and unimpressed, determined not to give the Crown Princes the satisfaction of knowing they had managed to catch her off guard. "If you two are here to apologize, fine. You’ve said what you came to say. Whether I accept your apology or not is my decision, and you don’t need to come inside for that."

Mikhail’s eyebrows lifted slightly, but he didn’t interrupt.

Starlight continued, her tone matter-of-fact. "It’s not as though the hallway is crowded. As far as I can see, the only people witnessing this are the three of us. So I don’t understand why you need to come into my suite just to apologize. You can say what you have to say right here, and then we can all get on with our mornings."

She considered that a perfectly reasonable suggestion. They wanted to apologize, and she had allowed them to do so. What more did they need? An invitation to sit on her furniture and drink tea? Perhaps a comfortable chair and a few biscuits to make the experience more memorable? Absolutely not.

She had only just moved into her private suite, and the last thing she wanted was to spend her first morning there entertaining the two men who had given her more than enough reasons to avoid them. Besides, she had Elle waiting inside, and she wasn’t particularly interested in watching her fawn over the Crown Twins this early in the morning. Starlight just wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet without having to deal with either the twins or Elle’s overenthusiastic reactions to their presence.

For a moment, neither prince spoke.

Then Nikolai lifted his eyes to hers.

"Do you really hate us that much?"

The question caught Starlight completely off guard. As a matter of fact, it nearly knocked her off balance. Who were you, and what had you done with Prince Nikolai?

It wasn’t the words themselves that unsettled her. It was the way he asked them. His voice lacked its usual arrogance, and there was something strangely vulnerable in his expression, as though he genuinely wanted to understand rather than simply provoke her into an argument. For one ridiculous second, Starlight almost felt as though she were the one being unreasonable.

Almost.

The feeling tugged at something in her chest, and she immediately resented it. What was this? Since when had Nikolai learned to look at her like that? She had never imagined he even possessed this side of himself, let alone expected to see it standing outside her suite early in the morning.

What on earth had happened last night? Had her little prank at the Red Lounge really rattled them that much, or was something else at play here?

What kind of conversation had these two even had that could bring about such a drastic change in their behavior? Starlight wondered whether someone had somehow forced a character-changing drug down Nikolai’s throat. Was there a magical potion that could turn an arrogant, aggressive prince into an awkward man who looked as though a single rejection might shatter his entire morning?

Because if such a thing existed, she wanted to know who had administered it.

Nikolai was still looking at her.

And the worst part was that he seemed to be waiting for a genuine answer. His expression remained uncertain, but there was a quiet sincerity in his eyes that made it difficult for her to dismiss his question as another one of his games. Starlight suddenly found the ceiling far more interesting than his face.

She let out a quiet sigh, annoyed with herself for feeling even slightly uncomfortable under his gaze. It wasn’t as though she had done anything wrong. She was the one who had been wronged. She was the one who had been given countless reasons to distrust them. Why should she feel guilty for refusing to welcome them into her personal space?

Still, she couldn’t quite ignore the way his question had landed. "It’s not that I hate you two," she said eventually, keeping her voice steady. "Hate is a very strong word, and I’m not going to pretend I feel something that I don’t."

She paused, gathering her thoughts before looking back at them. "But you both make me uncomfortable. Ever since I set foot in this academy, you’ve given me more than enough reasons to feel that way. You’ve treated me like my opinions don’t matter, acted as though you could decide things for me, and made it clear that what I wanted wasn’t particularly important to either of you."

Her gaze settled on Nikolai for a moment longer before shifting to Mikhail.

"So, honestly, if you were in my position, would you want to spend even a second in the same room with people who had treated you that way? Would you feel comfortable letting them into your personal space just because they suddenly decided to apologize?"